Apparatus for manufacturing insulator pins



April 1965 E. c. RYAN ETAL 3,177,570

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING INSULATOR PINS Original Filed Aug. 15, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTOR. EDMUND 0. RYAN BY LESTER R.WENDLAND mmw ATTORNEY April 13, 1965 E. c. RYAN ETAL 3,177,570

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING INSULATOR PINS Original Filed Aug. 15, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. EDMUND 0. RYAN y LESTER R.WENDLAND ATTORNEY April 13, 1965 E. c. RYAN ETAL 3,177,570

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING INSULATOR PINS Original Filed Aug. 15, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 as FIG.IO

INVENTOR. EDMUND 0. RYAN y L STER RWENDLAND ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,177,570 APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING INSULATOR PINS Edmund C. Ryan and Lester R. Wendland, Mansfield, Ohio, assignors to The Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Original application Aug. 15, 1960, Ser. No. 49,596, how Patent No. 3,114,000, dated Dec. 10, 1963. Divided and this application Feb. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 257,524

Y 7 Claims. (Cl. 29-44352) This invention relates to pins and sleeves for suspension insulators and to apparatus for the manufacture thereof.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 49,596, filed August 15, 1960, by Edmund C. Ryan and Lester R. Wendland, which is now United States Patent 3,114,000, issued December 10, 1963.

Application Serial No. 48,232, filed August 8, 1960, by I. J. Taylor et al., describes an improved insulator in which the suspension pin is shielded by a metal sleeve. The sleeve is disposed about the shank of the pin and extends from adjacent the head of the pin to a point along the shank and beyond the exterior surface of the body of cement which secures the pin in the bell of the insulator body. The metal sleeve separates the cement body from the shank of the pin and sleeve to prevent corrosive attack upon the shank of the pin and, additioually, to prevent cracking of the insulator by reason of the growth of the products of corrosion in the region along the adjoining surfaces of the concrete and the sleeve.

The structural arrangement necessary in a pin and sleeve arrangement of the types described in United States Patent 2,443,435 and in the I. J. Taylor et al. application above referred to are as follows: first, the

sleeve must be rigidly attached to the pin; and secondly, the inward deformation of the sleeve under conditions of corrosive growth should, preferably, be facilitated by corrugation of the sleeve, at least along its outer extremity. The first of these conditions-imposes diflicult manufacturing requirements, particularly in the improved insulator of the J. J. Taylor et al. application above .referred to wherein a conical sleeve is attached to the pin -at its'smaller end. Specifically, the pin is most economically formed by upsetting or forging operations and the sleeve must be attached to a shoulder on the pm which is of lesser diameter than the ball or head of the pin. l

In accordance with the present invention, the sleeve is formed from a blank constituted by a length of cylindrical metal tubing having an inside diameter greater than the outside diameter of the ball of the pin. The

.cylindrical blank is positioned over the shank of the pin and then formed as'a conical piece by crimping one end of the blank inward into engagement with the shoulder at discrete intervals about the circumference of the shoulder. The intervening portions of the cylindrical blank -are. folded together as radial projections with the coextending walls in contact or closely spaced. The inward ,movement of the metal of the cylindrical blank is accomplished so thatthe longitudinal convolutions' of the blank are transformed from the discrete segments and Tadial iprojections at the shoulder to depressions and ridges at the exterior end'of the blank so as to constitute longitudinal corrugations circumferentially arranged at the exterior end of the sleeve. The end of the sleeve -abuts the'head of the pin at the juncture of the head with the shoulder so that the sleeve is rigidly held against the shoulder of the pin. a

The pin and sleeve are'cleaned and then galvanized by dippingin molten zinc. The zinc closes all the crevices and apertures between the sleeve and the pin and, additionally, the spaces between the walls of the radial projections of the sleeve. In addition to its function as a protective coating, the zinc serves to bond the sleeve to the pin and the co-extensive portions of the radial projections of the sleeve to assist in maintaining the compressive engagement of the sleeve with the shoulder of the pin.

The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed specification and claims taken in connection with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, partly in section and partly broken away, of a suspension insulator illustrating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the and sleeve tion;

FIG. 3 is a section view of the pin and sleeve of FIG. 2 taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view, partly in section, of the pin and sleeve of FIG. 2, taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an elevation view of apparatus for automatically forming the sleeve and for assembling the sleeve on the pin, in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section view, partly broken away, taken in the direction 66 in FIG. 5; and

FIGS. 7 to 11, inclusive, show the shape and design of a finger of the die shown in FIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a suspension insulator 10 comprising an insulator body 11, a cap 12, pin 13 and sleeve 14. The insulator body 11 is constituted of a vitreous electrical insulating material, usually porcelain, shaped as a disc 15, a central part or hell 16, and skirts on the under part of the disc 15. The cap 12 is secured'to the exterior of the bell 16 by a body 17 of Portland cement and a coating 18 constituted by sand particles embedded in a layer of glaze which extends around the exterior of the bell 16. The pin 13 and sleeve 14 are held in the open interior of the bell 16 by a body 19 of Portland cement and a coating 20 constituted by particles of sand embedded in a layer of glaze which extends peripherally about the interior of the bell. A pad 21 of felted paper extends across the top of the head of the pin 13 and the exterior surface of the head of the pin 13 and the exterior surface ofthe head is covered with a coat of asphalt for reasons not particularly related to the present invention. The cap is formed as a socket 23 at the outer end thereof and the pin 13 is formed as a ball 24 at the outer end thereof to connect the insulator 10 to" ancillary suspension and strain apparatus. i

The present invention is concerned with the organization of the pin 13 and the sleeve 14. As is shown in FIG. 2, the pin 13 is constituted by an elongated shank 25 having the ball 24 constituted as an integral enlargement at one end and a head 26 constituted as an integral enlargement at the remaining end thereof. A shoulder 27 is constituted as an integral enlargement of the shank 25, adjacent the head 26, and'ha's a lesser diameter than the head 24. The-shoulder 27 has 'a flat conical surface which tapers inwardly in the direction of the head 26 and terminates at the exterior surface 28 of the head 26.

The ball 24, shank 25, head 26 and shoulder 27 are of circular cross-section, being symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of the pin. The exterior surface 28 is constituted with a spherical contour, referred to as a spheroidal surface. The term spheroidal surface, as used herein, denotes any surface having a substantially spherical contour with the center of curvature on the longitudinal axis of the pin or offset therefrom.

The pin 13 is made conveniently from bar stock by upsetting 0r forging operations. The opening 30 is consuspension pin of the insulator of FIG. 1, also partly in secvenie'ntm certain forms of carbon or alloy steel 1 although non-ferrous alloys or stainless steel may be .used. I

a The sleeve 14 isconstituted ofsheet m etalland having a generally conical shape and disposition, The' sleeve", has: a plurality of'discrete'conical segments-31 which conform to and are engaged w ith the conical outer surface of the shoulder'27of thepin 13. V The conical segments 31': extend throughout the lengthof the Y sleeve from one v end Y to the other and are connected by radiallyextending .pro-

jections 32 which are formed by folded portions of the making, but'otherwise'nota necessary part of the pini, The pin is made .of'medium ftacting relationship with the exterior surface of the shoulder 21 to form'thediscrete portions '31 of the sleeve 14.

' Theintervening portions of'the blank are folded between sheet material of the sleeve. The"radial projections 321 are produced as a result oi the forming operation of the sleeve 14,'but also function, in part, as a holding-means for attaching the sleeve14 to'the shou1der27. l 7

According to the invention, manufacture. of the sleeve he titute the radial 'projections 32'Qf m6 sleeve14, as is shownin FIG, 6,;

Theinnerfaces 56 of'the fingers 421are shaped to form the longitudinally extending convolutions in the blank which constitute, atftheouter end'ofthe sleeve 1 4, the

* corrugations showninFIG. 4;. "-As willjbe evidentfromv a consideration of-FIGS. 9, 10 andfll, the change, in the shape dithefingerfriirhthe concave face 62 at the projection 6 1 to the convex face 63,to the-projection 60, to- V getherwith the circumferentialspacing'ofthe fingers produces in the formed sleeve a gradual transition from the segments 31 (FIG. 3 tothe concave'conyolutions-33 (FIG. 4),anid from'the'radial projections 32 (FIG. 3) to theconve'x convolutions 34 '(FIG. 4)

in the form shown is accomplished by providing artubu'lar metal blank constituted bya length of-cylindrical cmetal tubing an inside diamete greateri'than the outsidev diameter of the ball'24, relatively positioning'the fblank ,jg

and thetpin with the' blank over the shank, and forming 3 the blank intothe desirable conical shape withthe'smaller -pir'1 rests uponand 'is'support dvbyjthe blank at theupper In manufacture, the tubular blank 431 1s placed between V the fingersfl42lso that the'bla'nk Test'siatits lower end upon the 'projection 57 ofeach of the fingers-i The pin 45 is then inserted through the blank sothat theheadlof the end offithefblank. The inward movement of the fingers end of the-sleeve in engagement withthe shoulder' zl 45 is received. 'The receiver 44 is carried by the body 48 of the top die 41 and slides in an opening 49 against;

the spring 50. A pi ece 51 fuinctionsias' aslide for the V 7 receiver 44 as wellras a limit'stop for'the springSOJ i The, receiver 44 isnormally heldin the, fullyextended position bythe spring '50 and is compressed by"engagement withi the endaof the pin;45. as the dies 40 and 41 are moved. togetherp 1 =f] The upright-46 of-the bottom die 40'carries thetfingers 42in a plurality ofradi ally extendingopenings arranged; a at equally spaced intervals around the part, Each open- 7 ing extends, through the wallet theupright and each of the fingers is received in a circularly shaped depression 9 52 whichvconforms to a'circular end part of the finger, for pivotaiinovement thereof; Each ,of thejfingersfl' is restrainedby'anelastic 'springS Swhichis connectedto the I I I upright :46 by a screw 54andito the finger 42 by'apin 1;

.55 (FIG.,10).,v

the insert; fThei'nsert .56 is made of hard material, or is suitably face hardened with the faces .57 of theifiri gers,

42, to prevent unduewear of the engagingparts; V

Each ofthefingers. 42 is formed of Qthefinner racessv thereofltwith a projection 60iwhich servesrto support and hold the sleeve blank 43.] The dpch position of the'fingers 421s such'jthat-the faces59-extend injparallel directions along the exteriorlofthe blank, jso ,j thatthe; rojections 60 of thes'everal fingefsi'en'gag the bottomend of the blank.) ,7 'i 1 Each of the fingersAZlis l formed adjacentthetop ex- I. tremitywith a projectionroLfromlthe inner face 59bfillh V finger? The' 'projection ol has a; front faoe 2 whichlis. 1

{formed as afrcircula'r,arc havingaEra'di'us'*equalfltogthat iof the'outersurfaceof the sleeve Hand, so .di sposeid "that', i. with 'the finger .42 in the final position, thelface 6 2 is cen}? V gterecl on-ithe longitudinal.jaiiis"offthejpinl iAccord ingly during inward movement jof thefing ersj, 42, 'th'eprojections" 61" foreethe body the tubularblankinwardinto-con 42 as a result of the downward-movement ofthe top die 1 3 41- toward the bottom diel40 compresses thelblank inward in the radialdirection ofthe movement of several qfingersljThe inward movement of the'blank simultaneously'forces the;;pini45 in'the upward direction, with movement of the inner edge' of 'the' blanlg along the spherical surface (corresponding =to'the surface 28'of the pin' l 3) of thehead of thevpin 45, until the head of the pin'engagesthe receiver 44 The, force exerted'by the spring 50,- through the receiver 44,011 ,theend of the pin, opposesitheinward' movement of the end ofthe sleeve 43 suchthat'the inside edges of the end oftheblank are in substantialengagement with the pin at thejuncture of lthe exterior-I surface ,of'thejhead of the pin with the exterior surface ofIthe shoulder when the'inwardlydeformed, fportionsof" the tubular blank are-in contacting engagementwith the'conical .surfac'exof the shoulder (that is,

along the discrete cojnical portionsvfil indicatedin FIG.

,1, -3)." Accordingly, -a mechanicaII jointis formed between "the sleeve and; the pin as theifingers '42 are broughtto a v j fullyclosedjposition (indicated in ,FIG.'5),. The shaping of the :blank'along" the length topr'oduc'e thezconvolutions 'ofjthe sleeve 114is', .of course, accomplished during scribed. 1 1

It is tube 7 1 t v l p t I fn'otintendedtorestrict the sc'ope of'the'invention andthat 1 The dies 49' and41 are-mounted-in a'hydraulic press; whichmovesthe .top die"41 toward-the"bottorndie=r40rin alignmenttherewith and attherequisife.pressuresi ThC ;fingersf42 1arejactuated byzengag eme nt 'of an iinsert56,.- I carried by the body 48 ofthetop,die'41, withthe'iouten face 57 of reach ofthe'fingers 42 along-the surfac 'en58 of various rearrangements of the parts and modifications of thedesign may be resprtedtmjThe' following claims are directedto combinations of elements whichembody the invention-or inventions of application;

; 1. Apparatusforassembling a -pin andsleeve in which a the sleeve is' formed from a tubular'metal'blank' and atatthelower extremity l d latached at one endthereof, to the pin, comprising a first -diehaving axbasejand upright; a plurality ofradially extending fingers'jcarried in' openings, extendingfradially through-the, upright; the, fingers b'eing} located at' circumferentially spaced' intervals about acentral longitudinal V .opening'in theuprightand havingeprojections from" inter- 101' faces thereof forcarrying-the blank in theopenpo- '2. [Apparatus for a pin andv sleeve inwhich thessleeveisforrned from a cylindrical ,rn'etal blankcorm I prising-a'firstidie'having a bjase-andja cylindrical-upright, arri i pen ngs e e ng r i V 'uhderstood that the foregoing description is i ally through the upright, the fingers being located at circumferentially spaced positions about a central longitudinal opening in the upright and pivoted on the said upright at one end thereof adjacent the base, projections on the interior faces of the fingers adjacent the said one end thereof for carrying the blank in the open position of the fingers, a second die movable over the upright at the end thereof away from the base and having a tapered interior surface for engagement with outwardly projecting portions of the fingers, at the remaining end thereof, to move the said remaining ends of the fingers radially inward and thereby deform the blank radially inward at the end thereof away from the base of the first die and into engagement with the pin along circumferential portions thereof, while forming a generally conical sleeve.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2, in which the second die is provided with a spring pressed receiver which engages the end of the pin during movement of the second die toward the first die for longitudinally positioning the pin while the fingers are moved inward.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2, in which the inner faces of the fingers are configured with concave faces adjacent the said remaining end of the fingers, which transform into a convex face adjacent the projection at the said one end of the finger to form a sleeve with longitudinally extending convolutions during inward movement of the fingers.

5. Apparatus for compressively assembling a tubular part on another part, comprising a first die, a plurality of radially extending fingers carried in openings extending radially through the die, the fingers being located at circumferentially spaced intervals about a central longitudinal opening in the die and having projections from interior faces thereof for carrying the blank in the open position of the fingers, and a second die having an annular part thereof arranged over the outside of the first die for engagement with exterior shoulders of the fingers to move the fingers radially inward upon relative movement together of the dies and thereby crimp the one end of the tubular blank inward into engagement with the said other part along circumferential portions thereof.

6. Apparatus for compressively assembling a sleeve on another part, in which the sleeve is formed from a cylindrical metal blank, comprising a first die, a plurality of fingers carried in openings extending radially through the first die, the fingers being located at circumferentially spaced positions about a central longitudinal opening in the die and being pivoted on the said die at one end thereof, projections on the interior faces of the fingers adjacent the said one end thereof for carrying the blank in the open position of the fingers, a second die, relatively movable with respect to the first die, and having a tapered interior surface for engagement with outwardly projecting portions of the fingers at the remaining ends thereof to move the said remaining ends of the fingers radially inward upon relative movement together of the dies and thereby deform the blank radially inward and into engagement with the said other part along circumferential portions thereof.

7. Apparatus for compressively assembling a sleeve on another part, in which a conical sleeve is formed from a cylindrical metal blank, comprising a first die, a plurality of fingers carried in openings extending radially through the first die, the fingers being located at circumferentially spaced positions about a central longitudinal opening in the die and being pivoted on the said die at one end thereof, means for supporting the blank coaxially between the fingers, a second die, relatively movable with respect to the first die and having a tapered interior surface for engagement with outwardly projecting portions of the fingers at the remaining ends thereof to move the said remaining ends of the fingers radially inward upon reiative movement together of the dies and thereby deform the blank radially inward and into engagement with the said other part along circumferential portions thereof while imparting a conical disposition to the blank in contact with the said other part adjacent the said remaining ends of the fingers and with radially extending convolutions between the fingers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 116,012 6/71 Beecher 153-12 1,111,403 9/14 Ohl 153-33 2,311,662 2/43 Hunziker.

2,689,400 9/54 Mirando. 2,838,789 6/58 Pazandak. 3,093,182 6/63 Vanderhoof 153-1 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLIES A PIN AND SLEEVE IN WHICH THE SLEEVE IS FORMED FROM A TUBULAR METAL BLANK AND ATTACHED AT ONE END THEREOF TO THE PIN, COMPRISING A FIRST DIE HAVING A BASE AND AN UPRIGHT, A PLURALITY OF RADIALLY EXTENDING FINGERS CARRIED IN OPENINGS EXTENDING RADIALLY THROUGH THE UPRIGHT, THE FINGERS BEING LOCATED AT CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED INTERVALS ABOUT A CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL OPENING IN THE UPRIGHT AND HAVING PROJECTIONS FROM INTERIOR FACES THEREOF FOR CARRYING THE BLANK IN THE OPEN PO- 